Posts Tagged ‘blame’

There’s a very dangerous so-called “game” being played by young men in America. It’s maimed hundreds and killed dozens of people so far. The object of this vicious “game” is to knock out someone with one punch to the face or head. Most of the perpetrators are young black males and most of the victims are white men and women of any age. Racist? Obviously!

What’s behind this brutal “game”? Some say that fatherless boys are being initiated into a gang. Others quote the perps as saying they just wanted something to do. So who and what is really to blame? It’s complicated with lots of blame to go around. But to even begin solving this problem, we must first understand it. Let’s begin with the blame:

1.Single mothers can do a good job in raising their girls and boys up until they reach puberty (about 12-13). After puberty is usually too late for boys but even then a good man in the house is essential to serve both as a role model and a disciplinarian to boys.

2.Fathers who don’t stick around to be fathers to their children, especially to their boys.

3.Boys without fathers either join a gang or the Boy Scouts. In poor socioeconomic areas, gangs are prevalent and single-parent homes are epidemic and are the breeding ground for sociopaths.

4.The Welfare System, which provides financial incentives for single-parent families and encourages, through its policy of providing financial assistance to mothers only if there is “no man in the house.”

5.The News Media for not reporting on incidents of the Knockout Game so that people are forewarned and know that they need to be more careful when walking around.

Okay, so what can be done to stop the carnage? First and foremost is that the Media do its job of reporting all incidents of the “Knockout Game” so that the elderly and women will know what situations to avoid. I’ve seen reporting of the Knockout Game on Fox News only and therefore I know that most people have not heard about it nor know what it is, and therefore are especially vulnerable.

The second thing that can be done depends on politicians and government officials. In no government program should a “man in the house” prevent a woman from receiving welfare payments…because a good man in the house is usually needed in order to raise sons to become good men.

The third action that would help thwart the Knockout Game is to do everything possible to keep young men occupied…working, if possible. Because raising the minimum wage to $10+/hour is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cost from 500,000 to 1,000,000 youths to lose their jobs because their employers could no longer afford to pay them, that idea should be shelved for now (or raised only a $1/hour for now). Minimum wage jobs are entry-level jobs…About half of those minimum-wage employees are making more than that after 6 months on the job. Many youth will never get that first job if the minimum wage is raised too high.

Since the Media refuses to do its job, clergy need to talk about it in their churches. This is not ideal, but it would get the word out (forewarn) to many potential victims so they can take appropriate actions (avoid potentially-dangerous situations).